Page 61 of Slouch Witch
As soon as she left the room, Winter leant across to me. ‘Ivy,’ he said patiently. ‘The reason I said you could take the lead is because you’re nice to people. It encourages them to tell the truth. I don’t think the approach you just used is going to do that.’
‘We’re on a clock though, aren’t we? We need to find the missing Cypher Manuscript before whoever’s taken it grasps all of its magic.’
He looked at me suspiciously. ‘Is that the only reason?’
‘Of course!’ I smiled innocently.
‘Why did you ask her how Diall takes his coffee?’
‘To see whether she was lying or not. The devil is in the detail. She didn’t hesitate. She’s nothing more than a coffee flunky.’ I amended this slightly. ‘At least as far as Diall was concerned.’ I paused. Hang on a second.
The next witch was edging into the room. I held up my hand and he halted in mid-step. ‘Bring Bethany back.’ He didn’t say a word but turned on his heel and did as I asked.
‘Actually,’ I murmured in an aside to Winter, ‘this power thing is kind of fun. If we get Volume 9 back maybe I should keep it for a while. It’s not as if you lot can look after it safely.’
Winter tutted as Bethany, looking more nervous than before, came back in. ‘Sit down, please,’ I told her.
She did as I asked. ‘What is it?’
I leant forward. Bethany leant back. ‘I’m going to assume that you make coffee for a lot of people in this office.’
Her eyes darted to Winter. He was watching me intently. ‘I suppose.’
‘That must be a bit shit. You’re just as much of a witch as them, right?’
Her nose twitched like a rabbit’s. I was right. ‘Yeah,’ Bethany admitted cautiously. ‘It’s a pain but I don’t mind that much.’
I pointed towards the door. ‘That guy.’ I glanced at Winter’s sheet of paper. ‘Bill January. How does he take his coffee?’
‘He doesn’t,’ she answered. ‘He prefers tea. Weak and milky.’ Her expression told me exactly what she thought of his preference.
‘How much of your time do you spend by the kettle?’
She looked wary, as if I were trying to accuse her of something. ‘Quite a bit.’
I pressed ahead. ‘I bet that when you give them their drinks, they barely even notice you.’
‘Sometimes they say thank you,’ she muttered.
‘And sometimes they don’t.’ I smiled. ‘Sometimes they’re in mid-conversation and they barely pay you any attention at all.’
Her bottom lip jutted out. ‘Yeah.’
My smile grew. ‘As a result, you probably know more about what’s going on under this roof than anyone else. You hear things. Lots of things.’ She didn’t say anything. ‘Bethany?’
‘Was that a question?’
I liked her. ‘Am I right?’ I asked softly.
She shrugged. ‘I guess.’
‘Are there any illicit romances going on?’
Winter sucked in his breath but didn’t stop me. That was good. I knew what I was doing. Sort of.
Bethany’s eyes shifted. ‘Deborah from marketing is having an affair with Tony.’ She hesitated then dropped her voice. ‘He’s married. They think I’ve not noticed but they share looks all the time. Brush against each other when they think no one is paying attention. That kind of thing.’
She clearly disapproved. To encourage her, I pursed my lips and shook my head. ‘Awful.’ I crossed my legs. ‘You have an eye for detail.’
